


Whatever It Takes

by SpiderShell



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Gen, Panic Attacks, Peter Parker Gets a Hug, Peter Parker Has Panic Attacks, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Precious Peter Parker, Scared Peter Parker, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-17 01:02:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29091729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpiderShell/pseuds/SpiderShell
Summary: Peter struggled against Tony’s grip, making terrified whimpers that broke the billionaire’s heart. “Please, please,” he cried, “it’s coming! Let me go! Let me goooo!” He gripped Tony’s arm with both hands and peered up at him with unseeing eyes. “I’m going to die! Save me, pleaseee….”Tony wrapped his arms around the boy and pulled him against his chest, rocking him slightly. “Shhh, Pete. It’s okay. You’re safe. Nothing’s going to hurt you.”
Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 8
Kudos: 42





	Whatever It Takes

**Author's Note:**

> **WARNING:** mentions of a car crash and blood, and extensive description of a panic attack. Please stop reading if you don't feel comfortable with this. 
> 
> Stay safe!!

_Brriiiiiing!!! Brriiiiing!!_

Tony held the cellphone up to his ear, tapping out an irritated beat on the table in front of him with his index finger. “Pick up, pick up,” he muttered. When it went to voicemail, he scowled.

_Hey, it’s Peter! I can’t answer your call right now, so please leave a message!_

He waited for the telltale beep.

“Kid, it’s Tony. You haven’t been replying to any of my texts today, so I thought I’d check so see what you’re up to. I have a few updates ready for the suit, so I was hoping that you could come by tonight. It’s a Friday night, and May has already given me permission. She wants you to get out and about again; you can only stay at home for so long. Call me back.”

With a sigh, Tony pressed the end call button and stared at the keypad on his phone. It had been two months since The Accident, and Peter had been acting strangely ever since: taking a while to answer texts, staying at home whenever he wasn’t at school, not patrolling, and staying very quiet. All in all, it was rather disturbing, and Tony was determined that he would get to the bottom of this, starting with today.

A text message notification popped up on his phone.

**Peter:** _Hi Mr. Stark. Sorry that I missed your call. Umm, I’ve got a lot of homework to get done before next week, so can we work on the suit another time?_

**Peter:** _Sorry to be a bother_ 😐

Tony narrowed his eyes. He had called May this afternoon, and she had confirmed that Peter had nothing to do. Why was the kid lying to him?

_Something’s very wrong,_ Tony thought with sudden clarity.

….was it related to The Accident?

Tony remembered how his heart had stopped when Happy had called him, revealing that Peter had been in a car crash and was currently in the hospital with extensive injuries. He’d sustained whiplash, a broken forearm and wrist, a dislocated shoulder, and severe internal bleeding, caused by a drunk driver on a motorcycle careening into Peter’s side of the car. According to May, who was devastated and out of her mind when she received the news, Peter had been picked up after school by Ned and his mom to stay the night. Neither of the other two were in critical condition, only having bruises, minor gashes, and slight whiplash from the accident.

It had been two months since then, and Peter’s body had healed completely, his super healing making it seem as if the crash had never happened.

Peter himself did not seem to be okay. Tony had not paid much attention to his strange behaviour at first, but it began to worry him that the boy was drawing into himself, coming with excuses to not visit his friends or patrol.

Something was wrong, and he would work it out, whatever it took.

“Whatever it takes,” Tony repeated aloud.

* * *

Tony’s phone beeped. Hoping Peter had texted him, he tapped in his passcode and dragged down the notification panel. Instead of seeing any messages, an emergency alert from Karen, Peter’s AI, was blinking in red.

A sick feeling in his stomach, he opened the alert.

_Heart rate extremely high – reaching 200 and climbing. Spike in high blood pressure. Subject is in severe distress; emergency action recommended. (statistics gathered from StarkWatch)_

Tony was on his feet in an instant, calling his suit to him and plugging Peter’s coordinates into the database. Running to the balcony of his apartment, he leapt over the barrier, engaging his thrusters.

_Peter Parker is currently located in an unidentified street in Hillcrest, Queens._

Tony locked in on the location.

* * *

Peter was huddled in an alleyway, body pressed into the wall of a building. His chest rose and fell rapidly, arms clutching and pulling at his hair as he gasped and wheezed.

_He’s having a panic attack!_ Tony realised, rushing into the room and dropping to his knees in front of Peter. “Breathe, kid,” he told him, gently and firmly placing his hands on his thin shoulders. “In….and out…”.

Peter struggled against Tony’s grip, making terrified whimpers that broke the billionaire’s heart. “Please, please,” he cried, “it’s coming! Let me go! Let me goooo!” He gripped Tony’s arm with both hands and peered up at him with unseeing eyes. “I’m going to die! Save me, pleaseee….”

Tony wrapped his arms around the boy and pulled him against his chest, rocking him slightly. “Shhh, Pete. It’s okay. You’re safe. Nothing’s going to hurt you.”

The boy’s body finally stilled, and his breaths came slower and less laboured. His forehead rested on Tony’s shoulder.  
“Pete, you okay?”

Peter’s glazed eyes slowly rose to meet him. “Mr. Stark?” he said quietly and hesitantly.

“Yeah, it’s me. Want to explain what happened?”

Looking down, Peter mumbled, “I’m fine.”

Tony laughed dryly. “You’re obviously not; I found you having a panic attack in a random street.”

Peter made a sniffling noise, and when Tony looked at him, startled, he saw tears beginning to trail down the boy’s cheeks. “Oh Pete,” he said softly. “Please tell me what’s wrong.” He wiped the tears away. “No matter what your mind is telling you right now, I’m here, you’re safe, and I can help you.”

“I’m sorry,” Peter whispered, his eyes looking down in embarrassment. “A car passed really close to me when I was walking home from school, and I, uh –”. He wiped his nose and glanced at Tony. “I only just jumped out of the way in time. It made me remember The Accident, and that scared me.”

Of course! What an idiot he was. How could he not even think of the fact that Peter might be suffering from PTSD after the car crash?

Tony clutched him tighter. “It’s okay, it’s okay. Have you felt like this often?”

“No…” Peter’s nose twitched and he wouldn’t look at Tony.

“Pete, you’re a terrible liar. Tell me the truth, please.”

“Well…I…have nightmares most nights, and – um – I might have had an asthma attack this morning brought on by the stress, like the one I had just one.”

Tony frowned. “Asthma attack?” That didn’t sound exactly right. “What symptoms did you have?”

Holding up his hand and tapping each of his fingers at intervals as if checking off a list, Peter replied, “Dizziness, chest pain, nausea, and racing heart. Oh, I also had sweating and chills.”

“That’s not an asthma attack, Peter,” Tony said seriously. “That’s a panic attack.”

Peter’s face fell, and his cheeks scrunched slightly as if trying to hold back emotion. His eyes flittered about the ground nervously. “But…I should be stronger than this.”

“Look at me,” Tony said, a sharp tone underlying his voice. When the boy complied, he continued, “Having a panic attack is nothing to be ashamed of, _nothing_ , you hear me? Did you know that after the battle of New York, I had so many panic attacks that I lost count?”

“Really?” Peter’s voice was incredulous. “You?”

“Yep. So, you have to understand, Pete, that it’s totally okay not to be okay. Admitting that something is wrong and telling me how you feel was a very good step. Now you can be helped, and you won’t have to deal with this alone again.”

Peter’s eyes shone with relief and gratefulness, and he threw his arms around Tony. “Thank you,” he whispered.  
Tony smiled, squeezing his kid tight (wait – did he just say _his kid_?). Things were a little hard for Peter right now, but he would help him each step of the way, whatever it took.

“Whatever it takes,” Tony whispered to Peter, promising that he would never walk alone.

**Author's Note:**

> So, what did you guys think?


End file.
